Intaglio printing machine for manufacturing name markers



April 22, 1941. o. GREENSTElN 2,233,893

INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING NAME MARKERS Filed June 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN EY April 22, 1941. o. GREENSTEIN 2,238,398

INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING NAME MARKERS Filed June 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fflg. 2.

i /7 42 ii 27 L Hal L. m I v ,N 46? 4/ I 1 i 50 r 2 Z ,2 4 iNVENTOR BY QVATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1941 I INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE FOR MANU- FACTURING NAME MARKERS Oscar Grecnstein, New York, N. Y.

Application June 7, 1938, Serial No. 212,225

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to intaglio printing machines, and, more particularly, to an intaglio printing machine'and process for manufacturing name markers and labels.

Heretofore, it was customary to employ woven name markers or labels to designate the maker or the owner of various articles of clothing such as suits, coats, personal linen, and the like. These markers or labels were generally providedin the form of a band, tape or ribbon'oi' a, textile material'having a name or other matter in-- v dicated thereon by means of a thread colored with fast dyes diflerently from the base and woven thereinto. These woven labels or markcm were generally provided in the form of a long tape, band, or ribbon on which the desired text was periodically and spacedly repeated a number of times. In practical use, this band or ribbon was cut into individual lengths each bearing the desired text and these individual lengths were attached to the article of clothing generally by sewing. Although these conventional markers and labels were satisfactory in use, they had the great disadvantage of being relatively expensive. due to the rather complicated weaving process involved. Moreover, it was generally difllcult to obtain these labels at a low price in small quantities as themanufacturing process was hardly profitable to the maker unless at least several hundreds or several thousands of labels were ordered at a time.

facturer, tailor or of the individual who desired woven laundry markers to be attached to his personal linen. This difiiculty was further accentuated by the circumstance that these prior woven markers or labels could not be obtained at a short notice but generally several days or even weeks were required before an order could be filled. Of course, this situation prevented a very large potential market from being materialized as it was impossible to provide the purchasing public in department stores and specialty stores with markers bearing the owners name, at the same time when the articles of clothing or of personal linen were purchased.

It has been already suggested to provide a plain or clear textile tape or ribbon and to pro- ,vide the desired text on this tape or ribbon by means of printing. It was proposed to employ i' conventional typesetting for imprinting the desired text onto the tape or ribbon with printers sink. This had the grave disadvantage, however,

ing onto textile materials with a dye.

that printing inks were altogether incapable of resisting to laundering, dry cleaning and to other color-destroying influences. In other words, name tapes prepared with conventional printers type on a printing machine were practically useless after the article to which the name tape was attached was subjected to laundering or dry cleaning. Moreover, it was also impossible to employ fast color dyes, similar to those used in the textile industry, since in printing with raised printers type, the printing ink or dye was deposited only on the surface of the type and this amount was insuflicient for print- Likewise, due to the absorbent character of most textile materials, it was very important to accurately control the amount of ink or dye which would go into the cloth, and, of course, this was irnpossible with conventional typesetting. Therefore, heretofore, when'it was desired to print with fast colors or textile dyes onto a cloth, it was necessary to employ engraved rollers so that the depth of the engraving would control the amount of dye deposited on the fabric. This procedure, however, was prohibitive in cost and could not be employed in the manufacture of name tapes.

It is also to be observed that it was extremely difllcult, if not impossible, to provide a clear and clean print on a textile tape'which was attractive and which was acceptable to the public. More particularly, the tape would frequently be smudged and smeared with the printing ink at the beginning and at the endo'f the printed text and blots were imprinted at the first and the last letter of the text. Moreover, special training and skill was required for properly handling and setting the type in accordance with the various texts with which the name markers or labels had to be printed, and also the type and typesetting would smudge and soil the fingers of the operator with printer's ink. Although also various other suggestions and proposals were made to avoid these disadvantages and inconveniences, none, as far as I am aware, of these various suggestions and proposals was completely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on a practical and commercial scale.

I have discovered a simple and completely satisfactory solution of the outstanding problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an intaglio printing machine and process which eliminate the disadvantages and inconveniences encountered in the production of name markers or labels by means of conventional manufacturing methods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an intaglio printing machine of novel and improved character which is adapted to,

produce fast color name markers and labels in large and in small quantities with equal eiiiciency and speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel intaglio printing machine for the manufacture of fast color name markers and labels which dispenses with the expensive and slow weaving process and with the cumbersome and unattractive printing process employing typesetting, and which in contrast to the Prior art methods involves the use of an engraved intaglio plate of special character.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved intaglio printing machine of a rotary character and printing names with fast colors onto a continuous tape, band or a ribbon of a textile material with a specially en- 'graved intaglio plate or master constituted of a single flat piece of a flexible sheet-like material without leaving marks in between the names.

The invention also contemplates an improved engraved intaglio plate of novel character which can be speedily and accurately made by means of a conventional engraving machine without requiring specially trained operators.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention to provide an improved intaglio printing machine for producing name markers and labels with fast colors which is simple in construction and to operate and which may be manufactured and sold at a low price.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. '1 illustrates a side elevational view having parts broken away for reasons of clarity, of an intaglio printing machine embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a side elevational detail view, somewhat fragmentary and having parts in section, of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a transparent intaglio plate or master plate employed in the intaglio printing machine of the invention looking at it from the front face thereof; and

Fig. 5 shows a portion of a ribbon or tape having a name provided thereon by means of the machine embodying the principles of the invention.

' Broadly stated, according to the principles of my invention, I provide an 'intaglio plate constituted of a flexible sheet-like material such as, for example, Celluloid. On this fiat intaglio plate, I engrave the name to be printed in reversed writing or mirror script. Hereafter, I tension this intaglio plate or master around a suitable curved intaglio surface and apply a suitable dye or coloring matter to the outer surface thereof by means of a color transfer roller for some other similar device. A doctor blade removes substantially all of the coloring matter from the surface of the intaglio plate except for the matter retained in the grooves of the engraved text which is not touched by the doctor blade. I

During the printing operation, this intaglio plate bearing the coloring matter is impressed against a tape, band or ribbon by means of a pressure surface whereby the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engraved text is transferred to the ribbon. At the same time, the ribbon is displaced by a predetermined length so that a new and unprinted portion of the tape or ribbon is moved into printing position. This displacement may be obtained directly by means of the cooperation and friction between the intaglio plate and the pressure plate or a separate winding or pulling device may be employed for example in the form of cooperating feed rollers for displacing the finished tape by a definite in order to obtain perfect synchronism of their operation. The finished tape or ribbon is allowed sufiicient time to dry and is hereafter wound up on a reel in conventional manner.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. A heavy base plate I carries two pairs of vertical standards 2 and 3 which may be integrally formed with the base or may be mounted thereon by means of screws or bolts. An upper sliding block and a lower sliding block 4 and 5 is slideably mounted between each pair of vertical standards, each of said blocks carrying a bearing 6 and 1, respectively. Shafts 8 and 9 are joumaled in bearings 6 an I each having a spur gear Ill and l I respectively, rigidly connected thereto which are meshing with each other in order to obtain simultaneous rotation of both shafts in opposite direction to each other when one of the shafts is driven. Spur gears l0 and II are pressed against each other with some pressure due to the slideable character of bearing blocks 4 and 5 between the vertical standards, the pressure being adjustable by means of a long threaded bolt I2 having a, nut l3 mounted thereon and which can adjust the pressure of helical spring [4 pressing bearing block 4 in the downward direction.

The in-taglio printing mechanism essentially comprises an intaglio printing segment 15 keyed to shaft 9 and having a substantially cylindrical surface IS in the major portion thereof while its ends are slightly closer to the shaft in order to provide space for the clamping device of the printing pla-te. As it will be best observed from Fig. 4 of the drawings, the intaglio plate I! is provided in the form of a flexible band of some strength which may be constituted of any suitable material possessing the desired flexibility and strength and which may be readily engraved by means of conventional engraving machines. Although various metals possess these properties, I found that a Celluloid plate of some thickness provides excellent results as it is inexpensive, very strong and flexible and is readily engraved. This intaglio plate bears the text l8 engraved therein in reversed or mirror script in order to give a positive and legible imprint upon the finished product. A pair of openings I9 and 20 are provided in the intaglio plate at the ends thereof and may be engaged by suitable elements associated with the printing segment. Thus, one of these openings is hooked on a small pin or hook 2|, while the other is engaged by a hook 22 passed through a post 23 and having its straight extension engaged by a threaded sleeve 24 which is rotatable by means of wings or pins 25. Rotation of sleeve 24 will cause the threaded end of hook 22 to be pulled in deeper into the sleeve and will stretch intaglio plate II on the circumference of surface l9 of the printing segment l5. Of course, the intaglio plate may be readily exchanged with another plate bearing a different text by releasing hook and removing the old plate from pin 2| and hook 22, whereby the new plate may be inserted without difficulty.

The intaglio plate cooperates in the, printing position with a pressure plate 28 stretched over the surface of pressure segment 21 keyed to shaft 4 by means of screws 28. Pressure plate 26 serves for pressing the tape or ribbon to be printed onto against the surface of the intaglio plate provided with the coloring matter and is preferably constituted of a material having at least some resiliency such as strong fabric, rubber, or the like, in order to be capable of at least moderate yielding under pressure.

The color transfer mechanism comprises a trough 29 having a. suitable fast intaglio printing color or dye therein which may be. in the form of a liquid or paste. is transferred to the surface of the intaglio plate by means of a color transfer roller 30 which is rotatably mounted in a slot 3| provided in the side walls of'the trough. The lower portion of the color transfer roller is submerged in the dye and the upper portion thereof periodically bears against the surface of the intaglio plate and provides the same with a fine and uniform coating of coloring matter. A doctor blade 32 is mounted on a pin 33 which is pivoted in an extension 34 of the vertical standards. A long arm 35 has one of its ends connected to pin 33 and has its other end under the pressure of a spring 36 whereby the free end of the doctor blade will bear with resilient pressure against the surface of the intaglio plate. The doctor blade will remove substantially all of the coloring matter from the surface of the intaglio plate so that only the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engraved text remains on the plate and is available for the intaglio printing process. A spout-like extension 31 of trough 29 serves for catching the drops of coloring matter which may accumulate on the doctor blade and may fall off.

The tape feeding mechanism comprises a reel 38 for the tape or ribbon to be printed onto and is rotatably mounted at the ends of a pair of arms 39 secured to the vertical standards of the machine. A plurality of rods 40 of substantially circular cross section is mounted in between arms 39 and tape or ribbon 4| issuing from reel 38 is led alternately above and below said stationary rods in order to provide a substantial friction between the tape and the rods and to permit maintaining the tape taut at all times by means of the rest of the tape feeding mechanism. Side plates 42 are mounted on rods 49 by means of screws 43 and serve as lateral guide plates for guiding the tape in straight direction and are adjustable to tapes of varying width. After the tape passed through the set of rods 40, it is carried around idle rollers 44, 45, and 46 to a reeling device 41 having a spring incorporated therein to wind up the finished tape. In view of the fact that this reeling device is of a conventional character and well known to those skilled in the art, its operation will be readily understood without any detailed descript on- Of the idling rollers,

This coloring matter 44 is adjustably mounted at the end of lever 48 which is pivotally mounted on arm 49 secured to the vertical standards of the machine, and may be fixed in any position by means of a screw 50.

- Idleroller or guide roller 45 is mounted at the end of an arm or rod 5| secured to the upper end of standards 2 and guide roller 46 is resiliently held by means of a flat spring 52 associated with the reeling device 41. The reeling device is carried by a strong plate 53 which is mounted on the upper ends of standards 2 and 3 by means of bolts 54.

The machine may be driven by any suitable motor but in most cases sufllcient speed of operation is obtained by means of a manual drive consisting of a pinion wheel 55 driven by means of a crank 55 and meshing with a spur gear 51 keyed to shaft 9 whereby both the intaglio plate and the pressure plate will be caused to revolve around shafts 8 and 9 due to the engagement of spur gears I0 and H. A spring-held ratchet 58 prevents rotating the crank in the wrong direction, the various arrows indicating the direction of rotation of the various parts of the machine and that of the displacement of the tape.

From the preceding description, the operation of my improved printing device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The first step in the intaglio printing operation is the preparation of the intaglio plate. This can be readily accomplished by means of any of the various engraving machines, care being taken to provide the engravingv in a reverse direction or in mirror script in order to obtain a legible and positive script on the finished product. This intaglio plate or master is now tensioned on printing plate or segment l5 by means of pin 2| and hook 22, as it has been explained in the foregoing. Hereafter, the tape or ribbon to be printed onto is carried through tension rods between the cooperating surfaces of the printing and pressure elements and along the various guide rollers 44, and 46 to the reeling device 41, which will reel up the finished tape. After the machine has thus been prepared for the intaglio printing process, crank 56 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. Due to the cooperation of gears and 51 meshing with each other, this will cause rotation of shafts 8 and 9 and of the intaglio plate I1 and pressure plate 26. During this rotation of the shafts, tape 4| remains stationary as it is not engaged by either the intaglio' plate or the pressure plate due to the segmeritary character thereof. However, when during the rotation of these shafts the surface of the intaglio plate is engaged by the pressure plate, the tape therebetween will be also engaged and will be pulled through the machine for a length of time determined by the time during which the intaglio plate is pressed against the pressure plate which is under the influence of spring l4. At the same time the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engraved intaglio plate will be transferred to the tape. As it will be noted from the drawing, printing segment l5 has a greater curvature at both ends than in the center portions thereof where it is of a substantially circular character. This type of structure will make it possible to effect both the engagement and the disengagement of the intaglio plate and of the pressure in a smooth and shock-proof manner during the continuous rotation thereof. The finished tape is conducted to the reeling device by means of guide rollers 44, 45 and 46. that the tape has its printed side towards the outside so that it has time to'completely dry before reaching reeling device 41 whereby smudging of the fresh print is avoided. The appearance of the finished product will appear from Fig. 5. As it will be observed from Fig, 5, tape ll bears a name or other text 58 at regularly spaced intervals. This tape may be cut into individual lengths bearing the text and these lengths may be sewed to the garment to be marked in conventional manner. In view of the fact that fast textile colors or dyes are employed in the process of the invention, the name tapes may be subjected to repeated laundering or dry cleaning without any detrimental effects.

It will be noted that the present invention provides various important advantages. First of all, the invention provides a simple and highly efficient device for the manufacture of fast color name markers and labels which avoids the high cost and loss of time connected with the manufacture of conventional woven labels.

It is also to be observed that the device of the invention dispenses with the conventional typesetting heretofore employed in the manufacture of conventional printed labels and incapable of using fast colors, and employs a special intaglio plate constituted of a flexible and sheet-like material on which the text to be printed onto the tape or ribbon is engraved by means of a conventional engraving machine.

Moreover, the device of the invention provides an attractive and commercially desirable and fast color product free from the unsightly appearance of prior printed name markers or labels, at a low price.

Furthermore, the complete equipment for the manufacture of my novel and improved fast color name markers and labels is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to operate. The intaglio plates of the invention may be engraved with any text in a few minutes by means of a conventional engraving machine. Thus, in view of the extreme simplicity of my intaglio printing device and equipment it is possible to provide the public with fast color name markers, laundry marks, and labels at a very short notice and at low price.

Likewise, the present invention also provides a novel intaglio printing process for the manufacture of name tapes bearing characters in fast textile colors and dyes which are unaffected by laundering and dry cleaning and which are in every way equivalent or even superior to conventional Woven name tapes.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention. I consider all of these variations and modifications as within the true spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosed in the present description and defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising an intaglio plate of segmentary character having a substantially circular center portion and having end portions of considerably greater curvature, pressure means adapted to periodically coact with said platermeans for applying coloring matter to said intaglio plate, means for pass- It will. be noted ing a tape between said intaglio plate and said pressure means, and means for rotating said plate and pressure means along closed and adjoining circular paths to cause periodical coaction thereof with a portion of said tape to transfer said coloring matter to said tape.

2. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising an intaglio plate of segmentary character having a substantially circular center portion and having end portions of considerably greater curvature, a pressure plate of segmentarycharacter and inferior in length to said intaglio plate adapted to periodically cooperate with said intaglio plate, means for applying coloring matter to said intaglio plate, means for passing a tape between said segmentary plates, and means for rotating said plates to cause periodical cooperation thereof with a portion of said tape to transfer said coloring matter thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being displaced during the engagement of said plates by a predetermined amount.

3. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising a rotatable intaglio plate of segmentary character having a substantially circular center portion and having end portions of considerably greater curvature, a rotatable pressure plate of segmentary character and inferior in length to said intaglio plate adapted to periodically cooperate with said intaglio plate, means for applying fast textile coloring matter to said intaglio plate, means for passing a tape between said segmentary plates, and means for rotating said plates along closed circular paths in the opposite sense and in the same direction in the plane of said tape to causeperiodical cooperation of said plates with said tape and transfer of said coloring matter thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being displaced during each engagement of said plates by a predetermined amount.

4. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising a frame, a relatively long intaglio plate and a considerably shorter pressure plate of segmentary character rotatably mounted in said frame, said intaglio plate having a substantially circular center portion and end portions of considerably greater curvature and having characters to. be reproduced engraved therein, means for applying coloring matter to'said engraved characters, means for removing excess coloring matter from said intaglio plate, means for feeding a tape through the common rotary path of saidplates, and means for rotating said plates in the opposite sense with respect to each other to cause periodical cooperation thereof with said tape and to transfer coloring matter thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being adapted to be displaced by a predetermined amount during each engagement of said plates.

5. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising a frame, a relatively long intaglio plate segment and a considerably shorter pressure plate segment rotatably mounted in said frame, said intaglio plate segment having a substantially circular center portion and end portions of considerably greater curvature, means associated with said intaglio plate segment to tension a normally fiat and flexible intaglio plate bearing engraved characters around the circumferential surface of said segment, means engageable by said intaglio plate during the continuous rotation thereof to apply coloring matter to said plate, means for removing excess coloring matter therefrom, means for feeding a tape through the common rotary path of said segments, and means for synchronously rotating said plates in the opposite sense with respect to each other to cause periodical cooperation thereof with said tape and to transfer coloring matter thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being adapted to be displaced by a predetermined amount during each engagement of said plates.

6. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising a frame, a pair of sliding blocks displaceably mounted in said frame, a relatively long intaglio plate segment and a considerably shorter pressure plate segment rotatably mounted in said blocks, said intaglio plate segment having a substantially circular center portion and end portions of considerably greater curvature, means associated with said intaglio plate segment to tension a normally flat and flexible intaglio plate bearing engraved mirror-script characters around the circumferential surface of said segment, means engageable by said intaglio plate during the continuous rotation thereof to apply fast color textile dye to said plate, a doctor blade for removing excess amounts of dye therefrom, means for feeding a tape constituted of a textile material through the common rotary path of said segments, means including a pair of spur gears for synchronously rotating said plates in l the opposite se..se with respect to each other to cause periodical cooperation thereof with said tape and to transfer said dye thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being adapted to of name tapes, the combination comprising a frame, a relatively long intaglio plate segment and a considerably shorter pressure plate segment rotatably'mounted in said frame, said intaglio platesegment having a substantially circular center portion and end portions of considerably greater curvature, means. associated with said intaglio plate segment to tension a normally flat and flexible intaglio plate bearing engraved characters around the circumferential surface of said segment, means engageable by said intaglio plate during the continuous rotation thereof to apply coloring matter to said plate, means for removing excess coloring matter therefrom, means for feeding a tape through the common rotary path of said segments, means for synchronously rotating said plates in the opposite sense with respect to each other to cause periodical cooperation thereof with said tape and to transfer coloring matter thereto, said ta being normally stationary and being adapted to be displaced by a predetermined amount during each engagement of said plates, and reeling means for winding up said tape after it has passed through the cooperating position of said plates.

8. In an intaglio machine for the manufacture of name tapes, the combination comprising a frame, a relatively long intaglio plate segment and a considerably shorter pressure plate segment rotatably mounted in said frame, clamping means associated with said intaglio plate segment for tensioning a normally flat and flexible intaglio plate bearing engraved mirror-script characters around the circumferential surface of said segment, said intaglio plate segment having a sub stantially circular center portion and having end portions of substantially greater curvature, means including a color transfer roll engageable during the continuous rotation thereof to apply coloring matter to said intaglio plate, a doctor blade, for removing excess coloring matter therefrom,'means for feeding a tape through the common rotary path of said'segments, lateral and vertical guide means for said tape, means for synchronously rotating said plates in the opposite sense with respect to each other to cause periodical cooperation thereof with said tape and to transfer coloring matter thereto, said tape being normally stationary and being adapted to be displaced by an amount corresponding to the cooperating length of said plates during each engagement thereof, and reeling means for winding up said tape after having passed through the cooperating position of said plates.

OSCAR GREENSTEIN. 

